Side Entrance of the Durham
Mill and FurnacePhotograph by Sue Pridemore

The Durham Mill is
typical of early 19th-century gristmills in the eastern part
of Pennsylvania. The 3-story stone building was built in 1820
on the foundation walls of the historic Durham Furnace. The
furnace, dating from 1727, had produced pig and bar iron as
well as cast iron pans, utensils and stove plates for nearly
70 years. Pig iron was crude iron; the direct product of the
blast furnace. When refined, it produces steel or wrought iron.
The mill, always operated with an overshot wheel, drew its water
from Cook's Creek by way of a 3/4 mile long raceway. One of
the first managers of the furnace was Colonel
George Taylor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
During his time there the furnace produced cannons, cannon balls
and shot, and other military equipment for the American troops.
Ironically, a loyalist named Joseph Galloway actually owned
the furnace then. Also associated with the war were the Durham
boats designed for river commerce by Robert Durham. George Washington
used 40 of these boats in his historic crossing
of the Delaware River. Another Revolutionary War figure
associated with the area was general Daniel Morgan, a native
of Durham and an employee at the furnace at age 16. Rubin Knecht
Bachman, a US Representative during the Hayes administration,
owned the mill in the late 19th century and early 1900s. The
outstanding addition over these years was the brick warehouse
with gamble roof built in 1812. The mill was in continuous operation
until 1967, producing primarily livestock feed in its later
years.

Durham Mill and Furnace is located on Durham Rd. in Durham
Township, Bucks County. The building is not open to the public.